What Happened To Us
by luvin-benadam
Summary: future fic. Duncan and Veronica were married. Five years later she's in Boston and he's in Neptune. Read to find the heartbreaking tragedy that tore the once happy couple apart.
1. Sorry Doesn't Change A Thing

Veronica Mars was not normally one to sit on the dark of her apartment, alone, with an empty shot of vodka in her hand. A shot that had been filled more than a couple of times in the past few hours. But today was different. It was the anniversary of the beginning of the end of her life. If that made any sense. The darkness seemed to help the vodka do it's job, to numb her of all her pain, to temporarily ake her forget of the mess that had become her life. To make her forget Duncan. Not that one could forget a guy like him so easily. That's why. for only tonight, she turned to alcohol. Any other night she would be the strong, indestructable woan that everyone that knew her loved. As the alchohol took affect and she could feel her eyes closing heavily, the phone rang frosomewhere on the floor below her. Veronica stumbeled hastily out of her chair and reached for the phone, picking it up and answering soewhat slurred.

"Mars residence," she said.

"Who knew you to be so professional?" her fathers voice answered fromthe other side of the line. He was clearly obliious to the fact that she had been drinking.

"Hey Dad," she said, the affects of the booze wearing off just by the sound of his coforting voice.

"How are you sweetie?"

She took a second to ponder the question, wondering whether or not to put up the facade that she did for everyone except Wallace.

"I've been better," she answered truthfully.

"I'm sure you have. Heard from Duncan lately?" he said, realising seconds after that mentioning Duncan was probably the last thing his distraught daughter wanted to hear.

"I've been served."

"What?" he asked, wondering what she was talking about.

"Divorce papers," she answered simply.

It was now Keith's turn for silence. He wondered how she was taking this, two years of marrige, three years of seperation. And now he was serving her with divorce papers.

"I'm sorry hunny. Are you ok?" he asked, concern etched into his voice.

"No. But I will be."

"Have you signed them?"

'Nope."

"Are you going to?"

Veronica took another second before answering her father. Truthfully, she didn't know whether or not she planned on signing them. She was so furious, so upset, that all she had done was tossed the envelope aside and burried herself in her work.

"Haven't given it much thought. I don't blame him though. It's been almost three years since I left Neptune, since the seperation. But he didn't even call. He just sent me the papers." There was a moment of silence. "Correction, his _lawyers _sent me the papers."

Keith could hear the bitter resentment and hurt that laced his daughters voice and it was killing him that she was hurting.

"Why don't you come out here sweetie? Take some time off work and come live with your old man for awhile. I don't want you alone right this time of year. Now since..." Keith let the rest of his sentence hang in the air.

"Dad I appreciate your concern. But just because it was three years ago today that...that..." Veronica took a minute to gather her composure. "That it happened, doesn't mean that I need to be with someone right now. It was because of what happend that made me and Duncan split up and I think some time alone is good for me. Besides, Duncan obviously wants me out of his life for good, apparently Boston isn't good enough, and I think the worst thing to do would be to come to Neptune. It would be weird."

"If, and I say if, you run into Duncan, just tell him that you're visiting your dad. Not everything revoles around that man, even if he is a Kane."

Veronica let out a half laugh. "Alright." she reluctantly agreed. "I'll be there sometime tomorrow."

"Ok sweetie. Love you."

"Love you too."

Veronica hung up the phone, reflecting on just what had made her relationship with Duncan go south. But she knew the answer all to well, they both did. It would be a miracle for any couple to survive a tragedy like the one they went through. After the incident, they just stopped communicating. They only time they spoke to eachother was when they were yelling across the room, both so heartbroken that they started lashing out at eachother.

Veronica picked up the phone again and dialed the number of the airport, quickly booking a last minute flight for later that night to Neptune. With much hesitation, Veronica pulled herself up from her chair and walked to her bedroom, shoved a couple week's worth of clothes into a suitcase, and left her apartment, each second making her dread more and more her promise to her father.

XXXXXXXXXX

Veronica stepped into the open airport of Neptune, looking around ofor her father. When she spotted him, he was sitting in a chair a couple feet away, a folded newspaper in his lap. She walked over to him, a grin playing across her mouth. Keith Mars stood up, seeing his daughter for the first time in six months. He walked over to her and threw his arms around her in a tight, but not stifiling hug.

"Hey you." he said.

"Hi dad!" she said in return.

"Welcome home."

"Some home," she mumbeled, though Keith heard her perfectly well. He decided to ignore it.

"Ready to go back? Wallace offered the spare room in his place for you if you wanna stay there. Or you can stay in the spare room at mine and Alysha's place. It's up to you," Keith said as he grabbed one of his daughters bags and the two of them started walking out of the airport.

"Um..." Veronica said, wondering whether or not it would hurt her father if she chose to stay with Wallace.

"I won't be insulted if you don't choose to stay with me," Keith said, knowing what Veronica would be thinking.

Veronica laughed. "Alright. I'll stay with Wallace then," she said, glad to have somewhere to stay other than her fathers. Not that she didn't enjoy staying with her dad and stepmom, since Keith and Alysha had got married, it was just that she was so close to Wallace. She told him everything and they had remained really close since her move to Boston.

Keith led his daughter over to his car which was a ways out in the parking lot, giving Veronica some time to get use to the blinding California sun.

"Boston is not this sunny," Veronica said.

"I don't know how you live there. It's so cold,"

"You get use to it after awhile," she replied.

Keith walked over to his car, popped the trunk, placed Veronica's bags in it, then unlocked the door for her to get it. Veronica climbed into the passengers seat, did up her seatbelt, and waited for her father to start the car. He turned the key in the egnition but didn't move the car from its' space.

"Why aren't we moving?" she asked.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Keith said, answering a question with a question. He wasted no time in beating around the bush.

"Dad..." Veronica said, wondering whether again to put on a facade. "No. I'm not ok. Not a second goes by that I don't think about her and I miss her so much. But I will be ok. As long as I keep busy, as long as I'm doing something, I'll be fine."

Keith was taken back by his daughters honesty. "Alright then," he said, finally pulling the car out of the lot. "What can I do to keep you busy?"

"You can take me to Wallace's. I need to get changed and then I'm going to see Duncan."

"Duncan?" Keith asked, in awe that his daughter's soon to be ex-husband was the first person she wanted to see.

"Yes, Duncan. I need to talk to him. Or yell at him. Whichever I feel in the mood for," she joked. Veronica tried a smile but it didn't reach her eyes. They were still cold, hard and hurt.

"Ok. I'll take you to mine and Alysha's place. You can drop you'r bags off there. Then I'll give you the keys and you can go and see Duncan. When you get back we'll all go over to Wallace's for dinner and we can take your bags over then.

Veronica simply nodded. The hard reality of seeing Duncan for the first time in three years had finally setteled in her stomach. The butterflies were back.

Keith allowed the rest of the ride to be silent. He knew that his daughter needed some closure and nothing he said could take away the heartbreaking pain she was in. So he allowed the silence to numb her, to close her eyes and slip away from life. Keith pulled up to his house, shutting off his car and looking over to his daughter who was asleep with her head against the window. He placed his cold fingertips on her cheek and she woke up, rubbing her hands sleepily over her cheeks.

"Are we there?" she asked. As Keith looked at her, he could still see his little girl. Like the time he and Lianne had taken her up to the cabin in the moutains one summer, and excructatingly long seven hour drive. Every couple minutes an 'are we there yet' would escape her lips and soon enough her parents were paying her to stop asking. Keith wished he could have that little girl back. The little girl that was on a leash that he could pull on when she strayed to far, that he could protect and shield her from pain. But she wasn't. And he couldn't.

"Ya we're here. I'll get you're bags. You go on in."

Veronica gave him a simple smile and obeyed, grabbing her purse and leaving the car to walk up the front porch, walking into the living room and flopping down on the couch, her head immediatly falling on the pillow, her body screaming for sleep. But she could hear Keith behind her, shuffleing with the weight of her bags.

"Are you sure you wanna go today? I mean maybe you could just spend the day here with me. Rent a couple movies, order that Chinese food you love so much. Give you a chance to catch up on sleep. Then you could go see Duncan tomorrow," Keith said, taking a stab at convincing his stubborn daughter. He closed the front door behind him and walked over to the couch, slumping down beside her.

"Sorry Dad but I gotta do this. If I don't do it now I'm gonna keep procrastinating and then I'm never gonna do. I can't think about it. I just have to do it."

Keith nodded his head, not quite understanding what she was saying but realising that this was something she needed to do and nothing he said was going to talk her out of it.

"Your bags are in the front hall," he said, giving in, "You know where the spare room is," he said with a smile.

Veronica kissed him on the cheek before walking into the hall, grabbing her bags, and following the hall to the cosy room at the top of the stairs. She dumped her bag on the unslept bed, unlatching the clasps and pulling it open, looking for something suitable to wear. She settled for a pair of flattering jeans and her favourite black heels. The top was a little more tricky. Digging through the flip-flop of messy, un-folded clothes, Veronica finally came to the perfect top. It was a simple thick-strap tanktop, a gourgeous v-neckline giving you just a taste of what you couldn't have, accented by a thin layer of beige lace, the same that made up the straps. It was a dark, chocolate brown with beige polka-dots. Mature and sophisciated yet child-like and flirty. Perfect to steal away Duncans attention. Satisfied with her outfit, Veronica moved onto her hair. She pulled it up into a simple ponytail, the bottom flipping out naturally, drawing the lookers eyes to her back, leading the view down to her jeans. She left her makeup the way it was. She had that just awake look but it matched her outfit nicely. It was innocent, almost to the point of being vunerable. Her skin was fairly lighter than normal, there wasn't much sun in the winter in Boston, and her cheeks were naturally flushed, a slightly blushed look that even a make-up artist can't achieve.

Grabbing her purse from the bed, she left the room and went back into the living room, her dad still on the couch, now watching tv.

"My key's are on the counter sweetie," he said. "Wow, don't you look nice. Dressing to impress?"

"Slightly," Veronica said, grabbing the keys from the counter. "I haven't seen him in three years. I have to look good," Veronica said with a sly smile. "Bye dad." She walked over to him and placed a kiss on his cheek then turned on her heel and walked out the front door to her dad's brand new SUV. She climbed in and wondered where Duncan would be. Normally Sundays were his days off from Kane software. Although if he was still anything like he was after the incident, he hardly ever came home. Deciding to first try the home they once lived in together, Veronica drove to the 09'ers part of town, pulling up at last outside a beautiful house that Veronica adored. She drove the truck through the gate and down the driveway, finally stopping a couple feet from the front door.

She stopped for a second before getting out to gather all the courage she could muster. Finally, she opened the door of the car and walked up to the front door, raising her fist and knocking, taking deep, slow breaths while waiting for a reply.

Veronica could hear footsteps from the other side of the door then the sound of someone placing their hand on the doorknob and slowly twisting it open. Duncan look to his visitor, his eyes making contact with hers. His expression was priceless. His jaw lost all slack and opened slightly. His eyes were practically popping out of his head.

"Veronica," His voice was cracked and distraught, dispite his best efforts.

"What are you doing here?"

"That's all you have to say to me? What are you doing here?" She meant it to come out as a yell, as angry as she could make it. But it came out as a whisper, hurt and vunerable.

"I'm...I'm...sorry," he spluttered.

He stepped aside and motioned for her to come in. She waited no time in walking into the grand, lavish foyer that she herself had designed. She walked a little ways into the hall, stopping beside a side table with two pictures and a fresh vase of flowers.

Veronica closed her eyes, taking deep calming breaths so she wouldn't start yelling. From her spot by the table, she could see a picture that made her want to cry. It was her favourite picture of their family, the picture that broke her heart every time she laid eyes on it. Duncan followed her gaze and stared at the picture as well. Then he looked back into her eyes. They were glassy and she looked as though she was about to cry.

"I miss her," Duncan said, not sure of what else to say.

"So do I," Veronica replied. But she was tired of being sappy and wallowing in the past. She remembered what she had come here to do.

"Where do you get off having your lawyers sending me divorce papers!" she yelled. "You couldn't have just called me! A little warning may have been nice!"

Duncan couldn't believe the sudden change in her mood. It was just like the last few months of their marrige. But he couldn't blame her. She had every right to be mad at him.

"I'm sorry. I know I should have called. It's just...I haven't talked to you in almost three years. I thought you would be mad if I just called out of the blue."

"Oh and what! I wouldn't be mad that you send me divorce papers through the mail?"

She could feel her anger boiling up inside of her, ready to burst.

"I'm not signing them," she said simply, this was a whisper.

"What?"

"I'm not signing them. Not right now at least."

"Veronica come on! That's not fair!"

"Not fair? Not fair? Don't talk to me about not fair!" she screamed, her voice cracking as she tried to hold in her tears.

"I'm sorry," he replied. He was at a loss for words.

"Sorry won't bring her back. Sorry won't change a thing," she said before half running out of Duncan's office.

"Veronica wait!" he yelled at her retreating back.

But she didn't care. She ran across the foyer and out into the front yard to her fathers car where she opened the door, threw herself in, rested her head on the steering wheel and cried into her arms.


	2. Tears

Duncan put his head heavy in his hands. That was not how he pictured his reunion with Veronica after three years. But, then again, he couldn't blame her. Three years of silence and without even a phone call, he sends her divorce papers.

"_I'm such an idiot! How could I be so insensitive?" _Duncan thought to himself. He really wasn't in the mood to work anymore. So he stood up, grabbed his suitcase, and headed out of the building, the hot sun pleasant on his skin after a morning in the office. He walked across the parking lot towards his SUV but was distracted when he saw someone in their car. At first it appeared that they weren't moving. Their head was resting precariously on their arms and they were slumped over on the steering wheel. But upon second glance, Duncan could see the woman's body raking with sobs. It took him a second to realise it was Veronica. He wasn't sure what to do. He had been such an ass to her, he no longer had the right to be her protector. But he couldn't just leave her there like that, so upset, so broken. It was killing him. So he walked over to her car and tapped on the window, her attention snapping immediatly up to his face. Veronica took a second to wipe the tears from her eyes before pulling the handle and opening the car door. She swung her legs over to the side so she was facing outwards. Duncan bent down on his knees so he was eyes level with her, not caring that he was wearing an Armani suit.

"Are you ok?" The question was rather retorical, but he figured he better ask anyways.

Veronica just looked at him, her glassy blue-grey eyes booring into his.

"No," she answered thruthfully.

"You wanna go for a drive?"

"What?"

"I wanna take you somewhere. You feel up to it?"

"Depends. Where are you taking me?"

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you now would it?" Duncan asked, letting a little smile play across his face.

Veronica gave him a sly, searching smile before reaching for his extended hand to help her up. Veronica and Duncan stood there for a second, staring into eachothers eyes, both feeling the spark that had shocked through their bodies at the point where their hands had touched. She turned around and locked the door of the car before following Duncan to his truck. He opened the door for her and she climbed in, did up her seatbelt, and waited for Duncan to get in and start the car. The ride was silent for the first ten mintues, Veronica taking the time to look at the passing scenery through the window.

"Do you ever think about coming back?" Duncan asked, keeping his eyes on the road ahead of him the whole time.

Veronica wasn't sure how to answer him. Not a second of any day went by that she didn't think about what she'd left behind and the family she'd once had.

"Sometimes. More now than when I first moved. I was too angry to miss this place." she answered, still looking out the window at the view.

"I miss you you know. I miss what we had."

Veronica was speechless. Three years of seperation and silence and he was telling her that he missed her now? She wasn't sure how to respond. So she spoke from her heart.

"I miss you too. I miss Neptune. I miss our daughter. I miss the sun. I miss Lily," her answers were whispers.

Duncan stole a glace at her. Her head was leaning against the window, her eyes clouded over by grief.

As she looked around, Veronica finally realised where Duncan was taking her. Her mouth dropped open in awe.

"Duncan...no. No I can't do this. I can't go there," she said as her eyes followed the winding, empty road. Thick trees closed in the road on both sides, blocking out the view of the ocean. The trees were so tall that they blocked out the sun, darkness shrouding the road in an eerie calm.

"Veronica it's been three years since you've been here," he said, trying to keep her calm. "I need you to go. For you. For me. For our daughter. Don't you think it's been too long? It's been three years since you've seen her."

"Duncan that's not her. That's nothing more that a concrete tombstone marking an empty grave. That's not our daughter. Our daughter was never found. She was kidnapped and after she was missing for a year, we burried her. We gave up hope. I didn't want to do it. I wanted to keep looking. But you insisted that we needed to move on. And I could have if we had had some closure. It would have been all the much easier if we had just found her body. Then I wouldn't still be clinging to a hope that probably doesn't even exist," she finished in a huff. She had hardly stopped to take breath.

"So you still think she's alive?" Duncan asked, not wanting to drag up old issues. Veronica's insistance that their daughter was still alive was one of the reasons they had split up.

"I don't know Duncan," she said, her voice was barely audiable. "I don't know anymore. I still don't think she's dead. I never gave up hope. I just stopped fighting."

Duncan wanted more than anything to take away her pain. To give her back the one thing in the world she longed for more than anything. But the one thing that could save her was gone. And as far as the both of them knew, she was never coming back.

Duncan pulled the truck through the gates and down the winding path of the cemetary. He kept driving before pulling up at the familiar spot just a couple feet from their daughters grave. He shut off the engine and undid his seatbelt, waiting a couple of minutes for Veronica to be ready. She never said a word.

Duncan opened his door and walked over to the passengers side, opened the door, and waited for Veronica to step out. But she didn't. She continued to stare straight ahead, completely zoned out. Duncan placed his hand on her shoulder but her attention remained infront of her.

"Come on sweetie," he said gently. He reached across her lap and undid her seatbelt, then, with his arm around the both of her shoulders, twisted her body so she was facing outwards. With great care, he placed his hand under her arm and pulled her up to her feet. When he looked down at her hand, it was shaking. His arm still drapped over her shoulders, he led her just far enough away to close the door, locked it, and walked her a couple feet more. Duncan noticed how staggered and shallow her breathing was. He continued to lead her over to the tombstone of their late daughter. When they got there, Veronica's breath became clear and full. She bent down and traced her fingers over the words that did no justice that the little girl who's life had just begun.

Emma Lillian Kane 

_You're the closest to Heaven_

_That I'll ever be_

_And I don't want to _

_Miss you tonight_

_Forever Loved_

_Janurary 6th 2010-Unknown_

"Why her Duncan?" she asked. "Why her? She was only six months old when she was taken from us. How's that for justice?"

"It wasn't fair," Duncan said, bending down beside Veronica and taking her hand in his. "I would have rathered it if it were me. At least then you could hae a piece of me. I could have lived through Emma."

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing. That maybe if I was the one that had died that we would have been better off."

"Well it doesn't matter now. It happened this way and there's nothing we can do about it," Duncan told her, keeping his voice as smooth and collected as possible.

Veronica changed her position so she was sitting.

"Do you remeber the song?" Duncan asked as he changed his position as well so he was sitting beside her.

"Of course. It was the song we played at our wedding. It was song we played over and over when I was pregnant with Emma. It was the only song that calmed her down when she wouldn't stop crying. Naturally it would be the song we would put on her tombstone. No parent should ever have to burry thier child," she said calmly.

Duncan reached over her knee and grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"You ready to go?" he asked.

Veronica didn't answer. She just continued to stare absentmindedly at the grave.

"Veronica?" he asked again.

"Huh? Did you say something?"

"Are you ok?"

"Ya I'm fine. Just reminiscing. Remembering the last time I was with her."

Duncan was silent with her, the both of them remebering the last night they spent with their daughter, the last time they would ever see her.

_Since graduating from highschool, Veronica Mars had been a Private Investigator. She had taken over her father's buisness and had a sucess record that millions envied. Her latest case was a doozy. A six year old girl vanishes in the middle of the night while her parents were having a party. Absolutly no clues to her whereabouts. Two days later she was found in the trunk of her neighbours car, suffocated to death from a lack of oxygen. By process of elimination, she had figured out that the neighbour, who was moving to a new town, had decided that since she could get the little girl's father to herself, she would take the kid and pass her off as her own. So she snuck into the house in the middle of the night while everyone was sleeping and brought her over to her house, placed her in the trunk (since she didn't want the girl to be seen in the back of her car) and went inside to get the rest of the boxes. But she ended up passing out on the couch, therefore suffocating the poor girl to death. _

_That night when Veronica went home, the first thing she did was went into her daughters room and picked her up, clinging onto her as if she was a lifeline. Later that night, Veronica and Duncan climbed into bed, Emma still wrapped tightly in a blanket in her arms._

_"Hey don't get too comfortable with you-know-who over there," Duncan had said seeing that Veronica was still holding onto Emma. _

_"Can't she just sleep in here tonight?" Veronica had pleaded. She gave him her cutest puppy-dog face, the one that always worked on him._

_"What? Too lazy to take her back to her room?" he kidded._

_"Hard case. Six year old girl suffocated in the trunk of her neighbours car. I don't wanna leave her tonight Duncan. Can she pretty please just stay in here with us?" _

_Duncan gave her a little smile. "Sure."_

_He had watched as Veronica slid down until she was laying on her back, her arm still wrapped over the babies back, fingers wrapping gently around the tiny whisps of hair that barely covered their daughters hair, Emma's head resting gently on Veronica's shoulder. Duncan had spent the majority of that night watching the two of them sleep, too afraid that if he closed his eyes he would miss something. Later that day while Veronica and Duncan were at work, their only child was taken, a robbery turned kidnapping while the nanny was watching her. That was when everything turned south. _

"It was a good last night with her though wasn't it?" Duncan asked.

"Ya it was. I just wish that it didn't have to be the last night. I wish that I had stayed home the next day. I wasn't feeling all that good but I had forced myself to go. The past three years all I kept doing was blaming myself. That maybe if I had stayed home then things would have turned out differently."

"Ya it would have turned out differently. Maybe I would have lost both of you. But Veronica, listen to me, things didn't happen differenly. It happend this way and there's nothing more that we can do about it. We should be thankful."

"Thankful? Thankful Duncan? Our daughter was kidnapped! We haven't seen her in three years! Our marrige fell apart because of it!" she yelled, all of her anger finally making its way to the surface.

She stood up, starting to walk away from him. But he was hot on her heels.

"Veronica wait!" he said. She turned around and gave him her best glare. But the hurt in her eyes was still apparent and Duncan could see that behind the mask she had put on, she was about to break.

"Im sorry. It was insensitive."

Her expression softened as he talked. He took a step towards her. And another. And another until they were face to face. And as they came face to face, Veronica could feel hot tears starting to prickle behind her eyes. They spilled over before she could help it. Duncan took the last closing step and let her rest her tired body on his chest, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her body, letting her release all the frustration and anger that she kepy cooped up inside for the past three years. And as Duncan burried his head in her hair, he could feel his own hot tears behind his eyes. Tears for the daughter they had lost. Tears for the relationship that had failed. Tears for a future they no longer had.


	3. Moved On?

Veronica pulled away, wondering what it was exactly that they were doing. Three years of separation, a separation that had occurred because they couldn't communicate and no longer found comfort in each other and here they were, wrapped tightly in the reassuring arms of one another. But as Veronica took another second to think about it, she realized that she didn't really care. Right now Duncan was her rock, the one thing she could lean on for support, the glue that held her together.

She placed her head back down on his chest and her breathing eased. She closed her eyes so the view of her daughter's tombstone would be longer be in her view and she focused intently on Duncan. It had been so long since he had held her like this, like there was no tomorrow. She could smell his cologne and breathed it in, memories of their life together flooding into her mind. Three years and he had still not changed. He was still, and would always be, the man who was madly in love, the man that would do anything for the ones he loved.

"What do you say we go home?" he asked, snapping her out of her reverie.

"Home?" Veronica asked, confused.

"Well ..." Duncan stuttered, "My house I guess," he said, his voice flustered.

Veronica nodded, happy to have somewhere to go other than back to her father's where she knew she would get the third degree. She pulled away from him but he apparently wasn't that ready to let go. He held onto her hand and led her over to his car, helped her in, and climbed into the drivers side, starting up the truck and driving out of the cemetery, seeing clearly that Veronica wanted to be any place but there. He felt guilty for forcing her to be somewhere she clearly didn't want to be.

"Sorry for making you go there," Duncan said, his voice filled with remorse.

"Actually I wanted to thank you for that," Veronica said, turning to face him and smiling. He looked a little taken aback.

"What?"

"Thank you. For making me go there. The only time I've been was for the service and I think going helped."

"It did?" said Duncan, still clearly awestruck that his plan had actually worked.

"Ya. Seeing it gave me...closure. Not the closure that I've been wanting for three years but closure all the same."

"I know what you mean. I go on her birthday every year. And sometimes just when I miss her. I find it helps. I hoped it would do the same for you."

"And it did. I know that we've had our differences through this but...I actually agree with you on this." She let out a half-laugh.

"So what's your plan?" Duncan asked, keeping his eyes on the road ahead of him.

"I dunno. Haven't really given it much thought. I only came here to see my dad and Wallace and Alicia. I intended on going back."

"Intended? As in past-tense?" Duncan asked, finding it difficult to mask the enthusiasm in his voice. Veronica laughed. He sounded like a child who had just been offered an extremely tasty piece of candy.

"Yes, past-tense."

"So you're considering staying?"

"Ya. I kind of missed it here. The sun, the ocean... You." She hung her head on her chest as though embarrassed about what she had said. Duncan gave her a sly grin that made her laugh.

He veered the truck down the now residential streets, making his way towards the house they had once shared.

"Look Veronica," he began. She could hear the hesitancy in his voice. "There's something I need to tell you."

She felt her insides twist into a knot. She had been afraid of something like this. Of Duncan having moved on with another woman. After all, she couldn't have expected him to wait forever, especially since she told him she was never coming back.

"Go for it," she said, trying to make her voice sound as light and hearty as possible. But it didn't quite work, she wasn't sure if Duncan had heard the fear in her voice.

"About a year after you left, I ran into Meg," he said. Veronica feared where this was going but she kept her face expressionless. "We sort of..." he pondered how to put it lightly, "hooked up."

Veronica cringed, though she didn't let Duncan see.

"Anyways," he continued, "She got pregnant."

Veronica doubled over and rested her chest on her knees; hiding her head in her hands and taking deep slow breaths. The thought of Duncan sharing a child with Meg when they had lost their own baby was too much to handle. Duncan could see that she was having a hard time adjusting to the news and pulled the truck gently over to the shoulder of the road, undoing his seatbelt and leaning over, placing a comforting hand on her back.

"Hey, I didn't finish," he said, rubbing his hand in circles. Veronica looked up, her face tear-stained but expectant. "She had a baby girl, named her Rachel. But I began to think that the baby wasn't mine. She had been acting really suspicious around the time she got pregnant and I wondered if she had cheated on me. I told her that I couldn't get to attached to a baby that may not be mine because it would be like losing Emma all over again. So I got a DNA test done."

"And...?" Veronica asked, wondering why he had chosen that moment to stop in his story.

"She wasn't mine. I told Meg that I wanted her out of my life. She knew that Rachel wasn't mine but she still decided to try and pass me off as the father. Since I never spent a lot of time with her or the baby because I didn't want to get attached, seeing them out of my life didn't hurt," he finished with a smile. "I'm sorry I scared you."

She undid her seatbelt as well and lent across the gap in the two seats, throwing her arms around Duncan in a strong embrace.

"I'm sorry," she said when she finally pulled away. "It's just that thinking of you having a daughter with Meg after we had lost Emma, I couldn't handle it. It's not like I didn't want you to be happy it's just that..." she let the rest of her sentence hang.

"...That me having another daughter that wasn't with you was like I was replacing Emma," he finished for her. She nodded, glad that he understood and that she didn't have to explain it. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"Now lets go home. We can curl up on the couch and watch a movie or we can talk. Whatever you like," he said, restarting the car and driving the rest of the way to the house.

When they arrived ten minutes later, Veronica and Duncan threw themselves onto the couch and Duncan popped in a movie. He sat back down on the couch beside her and watched intently as she focused all her attention on the screen in front of her. He couldn't bring himself to look away. She finally caught on to the fact that she was staring at him and turned to face him, giving him a sly, searching smile.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" she asked, running her hand over her smooth cheeks. Duncan laughed.

"No. There's nothing on your face."

"Then why are you staring at me?" she laughed.

But he didn't smile back. He continued to stare at her. But it wasn't a creepy stare, it was loving. He slowly moved his face towards her, not taking his eyes off her face which was growing steadily closer. They filled the gap and pressed their lips together, three years of missed affection shoved into the most passionate kiss either had ever experienced.


End file.
